Raspberry Rhubarb Yogurt Tarts with Almond Cocoa Crusts (Gluten Free)

I watch the azalea blooms melt and dry in the sun; collect long asparagus stalks that seemingly grow 12 inches overnight. Pull grass roots out from around the new delicata squash sprouts. Make plans for flower beds yet to be planted. Rooted. Sinking into this mountain life and simultaneously growing big eyes for adventures yet to be had. I find myself nervously baking chocolate cookies to calm myself in the face of last minute photography gigs and writing deadlines. I throw together the ingredients for ice cream -- cashews, coconut milk, maple syrup, cold brew coffee -- and crank the machine while dinner is simmering. It takes my mind away from the bigness of life as its coming at me. Raspberries and rhubarb meld over heat as I spin up a quick crust and stir honey together with yogurt. The process is as much soul food as the product.

Jam and yogurt and an almond crust. These little tarts, to me, are bright, enlivening, spunky, joyful. They taste like soft Spring bursting into Summer. They're a gentle reminder of the simple pleasures of hot days turned into cool, rainy evenings, of the smell of honeysuckle permeating the air, of collecting berries with bare hands.

There's something about berries and yogurt that reminds me of childhood Summers. As a child of the beach and rural South East Virginia I have intense memories of road side stands piled high with strawberries and corn and melons. And eating dusty peaches with the sun setting behind infinite rows of sunflowers. Spring was quiet afternoons sitting on the dunes, watching my brother and dad fish. Summer was bicycles, popsicles, the janky local arcade, ice cream sandwiches, walking barefoot in the market to browse the squirt-gun section, boogie boards, sand in everything, and the yogurt and berry smoothies my dad used to make for us. I'm idealizing, I admit. It wasn't all smiles and sherbet. Other than dealing with the occasional kid-drama, it was pretty damn great.

The first bite into these tarts is jammy, tangy-sweet. The yogurt gets a bit icey, along the lines of a popsicle, which I personally love. It cools you right down after the heat of the day. I like to let them melt a bit so that the little slices melt together in my mouth.

Raspberry Rhubarb Yogurt Tarts in an Almond Cocoa Crust

Recipe Type: dessert

Author: Renee Shuman (Will Frolic for Food)

Prep time: 3 hours 30 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 3 hours 45 mins

Serves: 3-4 servings

As with many of my recipes, much about these little tarts comes down to your personal taste -- the sweetness level specifically. The tarts work well with less sweetener, or more if that's what you prefer. If you don't have[url href="http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Perfect-Results-Round-Quiche/dp/B001392JRE"] 4.75" mini tart pans with removable bottoms[/url], you can use wide mouth-mason jar caps or set them up in tart pans around 5" wide and serve them without removing them from the pans. You can of course make this into one large tart as well!

Ingredients

Raspberry Rhubarb Quick Jam

2 cups raspberries (I used frozen)

1.5 cups chopped rhubarb

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/8 cup best quality rose or white wine

Chocolate Crust

1.5 cups almond meal

2 tablespoons coconut oil

3 dates, pitted

1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey)

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

*optional: 1/2 teaspoon ground black cardamom

pinch sea salt

Yogurt Filling

1 cup yogurt (I used goat, but for a vegan version coconut yogurt works well! Just be aware that if your vegan yogurt is sweetened you may want to omit sweeteners in the yogurt filling entirely.)

2 tablespoons honey (more or less to your liking)

1/2 vanilla bean, scraped of its seeds

Fresh raspberries, to top

Instructions

Raspberry Rhubarb Quick Jam

In a wide sauce pan, combine the raspberries, rhubarb, maple syrup, and wine.

Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb has broken down and melted into the jam completely.